Around Dodge City and in the territory on West, there's just one way to handle the killers
and the spoilers.
And that's with a U.S. Marshal and the smell of gun smoke.
Gun Smoke, starring William Conrad, the story of the violence that moved West with young
America, the story of a man who moved with it, Matt Dillon, United States Marshal.
Marshal, Marshal Dillon.
Over here son, what is the trouble?
Marshal, I...
Quiet.
That's Will Thompson's young Mr. Dillon.
What is it kid, what's wrong?
Dad, mom, they burned our house.
Got the fences.
Four of them.
My sister, sister that, that rode in a shot.
He's been shot?
Hold that lamp down here Chester.
Yes Mr. Dillon.
There's blood all over the back of his shirt.
Will Thompson, he's a homesteader isn't he?
That's right.
He came to Dodge City about three months ago, took up a section over on Mulberry Creek.
Mr. Dillon, you want me to go get the doctor?
No.
Boy doesn't need a doctor now.
Burn the house to the right Mr. Dillon, it's still burning.
Yeah, what's left of it is, watch yourself Manchester.
Yes sir.
No sign of life though, whoever did it's probably long gone by now.
No reason to hang around.
Let's tie up here and look around on foot.
Bring up your car by Chester.
I got it Mr. Dillon.
Yeah, they even fired the corn crib.
Now why would anybody want it?
What's there?
What is it?
It's a dog.
Shot.
A dog?
When they even shoot the dogs it's a...
You see something?
Yes sir.
It's Will Thompson.
I think it's Will.
What do you mean you think it's Will?
Scalped.
He was Indian Mr. John.
I couldn't have been Indians.
Only tribe reported in 20 miles of Kiowas and they wouldn't do anything like this.
They've been peaceful for years.
I don't know.
Come on, let's find out what happened to the rest of the family.
Yeah, besides Will and the boy who rode into town there's Miss Thompson and her daughter.
Girl about 17, pretty picture.
There's something lying over there by that cottonwood.
Yeah I see.
Well, I guess we found Will's wife.
She's alive.
Yeah, if you can call it that.
Scatter around and take a look for the daughter Chester.
Yes Mr. Dillon.
It's alright Miss Thompson, it's alright.
It's alright.
Mary, my daughter, they took her and dragged her away.
Easy man, easy.
I tried to stop them.
I held on to one of them.
He kicked me loose.
His spur came off.
It's here somewhere.
It's on the ground somewhere.
On the ground.
Yeah, I see it.
My daughter, they took her away.
My baby.
There now, there now, it's alright.
We'll find her ma'am.
We'll find her and then...
Miss Thompson.
Well, you're better off it man.
Mr. Dillon?
Yeah.
Well, we're here in the Willis.
I found her.
Alright Chester.
Pretty as a picture.
We're in Dodge, walking down Front Street.
Pretty as a picture.
Yeah.
Alright, let's ride.
We'll look in the Long Branch first and if Olisco Pete's not there we'll try the other
saloons.
I bet his boss is here.
He's here every night.
Yeah, I know.
Follow me in Chester, just keep him off my back, I'll take care of the rest of it.
Yes sir.
Good luck Mr. Dillon.
Yeah, thanks.
Well, look who's here.
Matt Dillon.
How you kiddie?
What brings you in sweetie?
Business or pleasure?
It's not pleasure.
Ah.
Plenty of other men in Dodge kiddie.
Are there?
They come in here don't they?
Sure, they come in.
I talk to them and I drink with them.
That's my job.
You follow me Matt?
I follow you.
I'm off at two every night.
Kitty, have you seen Olisco tonight?
No, he hasn't been in Matt.
Ben Roark's sitting over there at a door table though.
Good, I'll talk to him.
I'll see you kitty.
Sure Matt, sure you will.
I think I got a pretty good hand here myself.
All right boys, here's where money talks.
I'm raising another hundred and I'll stay in pat.
Ben.
Huh?
Well, it's the marshal himself.
I'd like to talk to you Ben.
All right Matt, talk.
Not here, we'll go over there by the bar.
I'm sorry, I'm busy.
I got a pat hand in a cinch bag.
Maybe.
This is official Ben.
Me?
Me and I want to talk to you.
Come on.
Take over my hand Donnelly, I'll be right back.
All right Matt, let's have it.
What do you want to talk about?
One of your cowboys Ben, Olisco Pete.
What about him?
Know where he is?
Around somewhere I guess, why?
I'd like to know if he lost his spur recently.
Tonight in fact.
It's pretty ain't it?
Mexican silver, needlepoint, raw, gold and lead.
He's the only man I know in Dodgers, got a pair like this.
All right, I'll see that Pete gets it.
He'll appreciate your finding.
I doubt that.
I found it lying beside a woman he'd just kicked to death.
Will Thompson and his whole family were wiped out a few hours ago by four night riders.
You know anything about it?
How would I know about it?
Your boys call you King Rourke don't they?
Never heard of one of them pulling anything without being sure you'd back him up.
Matt, are you claiming I was in on this?
You're a cattle rancher, Ben, an open range man.
You boys all hate the homesteaders coming in with their plows and fences.
Been a lot of fences cut by night riders.
Now it's murder.
You haven't named me yet Matt.
Couple of months ago here in the Long Branch I heard you say you'd get the homesteaders out of Ford County if you had to burn them out.
Well did you?
Sometimes a man gets known as a fast gunslinger and it goes to his head.
I asked you a question, Ben.
Then he gets himself a 10 star and goes around bothering people.
Ben, if you're figuring to draw on me, don't.
Why not, Matt?
I've seen you in action. You're not fast enough.
Now I asked you a question.
And maybe I don't feel like...
What's going on in here?
Nothing.
Oh, there you are, Marshal.
How are you?
Marshal, what does I hear about an Indian uprising?
There's been none that I've heard about.
Old family massacre, the way I hear it, sir.
Murdered and scalped.
Scalped?
Two of them were.
So as Indians, what game are you playing, Matt?
Indians don't cut fences, Ben. That's a cattle man's trick.
Scalping too?
Could have been an afterthought. It wasn't an Indian who lost that spur.
Well, we'll soon find out about it.
I'm riding into the Kiowa country with Troop C tonight.
I hope you won't do that, Colonel Blake.
You know the Kiowas are peaceable enough when you let them alone,
but if you push them, they'll fight through enough, Marshal.
We can't let them get away with it.
The Indians weren't responsible, Colonel.
I got evidence to the contrary.
Give me 24 hours and I'll prove it.
Well, I certainly don't relish stirring up a tribal war, but...
Just 24 hours.
Well, all right.
Ben, if you know where Jalisco is, you better turn him in.
It'll save trouble.
When any of my boys need discipline, I take care of it.
Not this time. Other people are involved.
Homesteaders.
Squatting on a measly 320 acres apiece.
Ruining the whole country.
They got rights, Ben.
Who says so?
I do.
Morning, Marshal.
Good morning. Any luck, Chester?
No, sir. I just stopped by the jail here to see if you'd found him.
I wish I had.
I'll head out again in a few minutes.
Oh, this fella's been waiting for you all morning, Mr. Dillon.
Is that so?
My name's Ezra Hawkins, Marshal.
We ain't met before.
I got Homestead up the river.
Don't leave me much time to get to town.
I see.
Well, what can I do for you, Mr. Hawkins?
Well, it's about what happened to the Thompson family last night.
The other homesteaders sort of appointed me to speak for the whole bunch.
All right. Speak.
Well, we want to know what you aim to do about it, Mr. Dillon.
I aim to get the killers.
When?
Mr. Hawkins, I've been up all night trying to get an answer to that question.
If you've got any information to offer, fine. If you haven't, then...
What's up, Chester?
A trail herd hit town, I guess.
Damn pull-up, boys.
Look at that pretty sign.
Dye City Tale. Come on, let's decorate it.
Let's go, Chester.
Yes, sir.
All right.
Hold it there.
Hold it!
My, my. The jail was occupied, boys.
You men just blow into town?
We ain't talking to them, man, Jim.
These are curly wolves from the
first of the bar B, the roughest stuff in the office in the pen.
And you're not talking to the sheriff. I'm the U.S. Marshal.
You the range boss?
That's right.
That Dudley, what about it?
Dudley, we got a new law here against shooting off firearms inside the city limits.
Yeah? You mean like this?
You know, Dudley, I mean more like this.
Now, come on down off that horse.
Watch your step, Mr. Dillon. He's got a knife.
Yeah, so I see.
Well, nice work, Mr. Dillon.
Drag him in and lock him up, Chester.
Throw some water on him.
Yes, sir.
All right, curly wolves.
Your boss is jailed and fined fifty dollars.
You can get him out tomorrow morning.
I said tomorrow.
Now on the move.
All of you, get.
You handle things right fine, Marshal, once you get started.
Thanks, Hawkins.
Only trouble is some of us homesteaders are getting kind of impatient.
The Caval Ranch has been treating us pretty bad for too long.
The boys are all meeting in my place today.
I reckon I can hold them back till tonight.
You know what I mean, Marshal.
Yeah, I saw it happen when I believe.
Dirty and bloody.
I'd hate to see it happen here.
Sure, I know what you mean.
Range war.
Well, Marshal, we can hold an inquest any time now.
I'm all finished with the topsy-
All right, Doc.
It goes pretty fast when you can line them that way.
Four in a row makes the job a lot easier.
Yeah, I imagine.
Doc, have you ever seen a range war?
No, but I hear there's one boo on the back-
There is.
Plus, Indy in trouble.
If I don't bring in Jalisco Pete before tonight and find out who his three partners were,
you're going to have bodies lined up 20 in a row.
Well, it sure bring in a lot of fees.
I could retire and buy myself a ranch.
Sure, Doc.
Oh, boy. Oh.
Oh, that sounds like Chester, Marshal.
Yeah, he's been scouting those thickets along the riverbunner.
Mr. Dillon, I've brought in Jalisco.
Where is he, Chester?
Outside, tied on the pack mule.
Good.
No, sir. I'm afraid it ain't so good.
He's dead, been shot in the back and scalped.
We will return for the second act of gun smoke in just a moment, but first,
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That's Time, CBS, Chicago 90, Illinois.
And now with William Conrad, starred as Matt Dillon, here's the second act of gun smoke.
Just a second now, Marshal.
Here it comes now.
There's the bullet.
If it'll do you any good.
It won't, Doc.
The slugs I dig out of the bodies all look alike.
Someday though, they may figure a way to tell them apart.
Maybe even tell which gun fired which bullet.
Oh, no, not a chance of it, Marshal.
Well, there it is. That's all I can do for the late lamented.
Oh, you see, he's only wearing one spur.
Yeah, I know. I got the make to it here.
That's what I wanted to talk to him about.
It's too bad, Marshal. His talking day's over.
Yeah, somebody made sure of that all right.
Then tried to cover the trail by scalping him.
Well, I can tell you one thing. It wasn't done by Indians.
That's my guess too.
I've seen how Indians do it.
Down in the territory, up in the Dakotas, slick and clean.
Nothing like this.
I could do a better job with my eyes closed.
I bet you could.
Well, yes, I'd better get ready for the rush.
Looks like a showdown, Marshal.
And I don't see any way that you can stop it.
Neither do I.
Matthew, over here, Matthew.
Oh, hi, you kitty.
Business again, Matt?
Well, I was looking for Ben Roark.
He isn't here. He left about an hour ago.
Some of his boys came after him.
Matt, I...I waited for you last night.
I worked, kitty.
All night?
Yeah.
There's a bad feeling near, Matt.
What is it? What's going to happen?
I wish I knew.
They called all the soldiers from C-troop back to Fort Dodge this afternoon.
I hear they're planning to move out tonight.
I hope not.
There's been a lot of homesteaders in here drinking today.
That's unusual for them.
What's going to happen, Matt?
The bloodiest mess you've ever seen.
And I don't know any way of stopping it.
If I'd only found Hulisco feet before they killed him,
now I got nothing to go on.
Hulisco came in here last night, late, after he'd gone.
What? Well, why didn't you let me know?
There wasn't time, Matt.
He heard he was wanted and he left right away.
He's friends with him.
Friends? What friends?
I'd never seen him before.
Think Pete had known him in the Pecos country.
They're all pretty drunk.
How many were with him, kitty?
Three, I guess.
One of them was named Red Dudley.
Red Dudley.
And one called himself Tulsa Jim.
They kept talking about the circle bar B Brand.
Yeah, it might be. It might be.
They could have ridden in last night ahead of the herd to look up Pete and then they...
Oh, Marshal, say, you'd better come on outside here.
If you want to stop a lynching.
Coming, Doc.
Be careful, Matt. Be careful.
What is it, Doc?
It's Ben Roark and some of the cataranches.
They caught themselves a Indian and they're going to string him up.
I doubt it.
Let us take care of this, Matt. We know what we're doing.
I hope so, Ben.
Who have we got here?
One of the murdering skunks who wiped out the Thompsons. Any objections?
I might work up some, Ben.
What's your name, fella?
He won't talk to you. He hasn't opened his mouth.
Look, fella, as an Indian, you're a ward of the government.
I'm a U.S. Marshal. I represent the government. I'm here to protect you.
Now, what's your name?
Keith Doxwell. Work hard. Good man. No kill.
What makes them think you did?
They kill people. No kill.
He pleads not guilty, Ben.
Sure he does.
And maybe he can explain why we caught him two miles from my ranch house.
Is that reservation? What was he doing there?
Come on, ask him.
Mr. Roark, maybe I can tell you what he was doing.
What?
Ezra Hawkins.
One side, if you don't mind.
Let me through here, please.
Let him in.
Thank you.
We got tired of waiting, Marshal. We come on into town.
Maybe that was a mistake, Hawkins.
Maybe. You have to play it the way you see it.
Look, mister, let's have it. What's this all about?
I'm a homesteader, Mr. Roark.
Well, I accept your apology.
If it weren't no apology, I just wanted you to know who those hundred men across the street were.
They all got guns.
A hundred, huh?
Well, there's 30 of us, so the odds aren't bad.
What's on your mind?
This Indian's been working for us, Mr. Roark.
Tracking down fencecutters.
Maybe that's why you caught him within two miles of your house.
Got the nerve to come out and say what you mean, homesteader?
You bet I have, fencecutter.
All right, hold it.
Now, you're covered, Ben, and you too, Hawkins. This play's gone far enough.
Not giving a man a chance to draw, Matt?
Not this time, Ben.
All right, katoksa, climb off that horse and get over here behind me.
Move slow and stay out of the line of fire.
You men, be the side mix. I'll move. Ben and Hawkins will be the first to get it. You understand?
Doc, take us in into your office.
Oh, sure, sure. Right away, man.
Well, Matt, what's the next step? You can't go in there.
Well, Matt, what's the next step? You can't keep us here with our hands in the air forever.
I don't intend to.
I got one of the murderers locked up in jail.
I want you two to come along and listen to his statement, but leave the questions to me, all right?
It's just fine with me, Marshal.
Sure show, Matt.
Good. Come on.
Chester. Chester.
Looks kind of deserted, Matt.
He may have gone back to the cells to see.
Chester. Ben Hawkins.
What's the matter, Matt?
Here, I'll get that gag off of him. You cut the ropes, Ben.
Right.
All right, Chester, here we go. Easy now. There.
What happened, Chester?
Oh, they slipped in and got the drop on me, Mr. Dillon.
Took Red Dudley with them. There was two of them, not more than 20 minutes ago.
Who were they? Did you know them?
No. Circle Bar B boys, I think. They slugged me and thought I was out, but I heard them talking.
They were all in with Pete on the Thompson killing.
Yeah, I know.
And they killed Pete, too. They were afraid you'd make him talk.
The question now is, where are they?
I know where. They are Kansas rooms.
They are Kansas, huh?
They planned to hole up there until it got dark. Maybe they've gone by now, though.
Maybe not.
Want some help, Matt?
No, thanks, Ben. It's my job, mine and Chester's.
Come on, Chester, let's go.
The room and house is all dark, Mr. Dillon.
That doesn't mean a thing. Watch the windows.
Hey, you, Dillon!
Drop behind that water trough here. Use your carbine. It's more accurate.
Yes, sir.
All right, Dudley. Come on out. You're under arrest.
Come and get it!
Fire at the flashes, Chester.
That came from the side window, Mr. Dillon.
Yeah, and tend to wonder if there's somebody behind the other corner. So...
Yeah, there was.
Break the front of the building, Chester.
Yes, sir.
I got one. He's hanging out the window.
Yeah, it's two down and one...
Dillon! 45! I give up!
All right, come on out.
Be careful, Mr. Dillon. It may be a trick.
It's up to him.
Come on out, Dudley.
Well, hurry it up!
I'm coming. I got a... I got a bullet in my leg.
I can't hurry very fast.
You got me all wrong...
Watch it! He's drawing!
Wrong, Chester. He started to...
See if you can find the doctor and get him to help you pack these...
things over to the jail.
Yes, sir. Right away, Mr. Dillon.
Matt?
Are you all right, Matt?
Yeah. Yeah, I'm all right, Ben.
Had a clean sweep, huh?
Looks that way.
Well, bullets are cheaper than rope.
I guess so.
Ben, you and your boys aren't murderers like Red Dudley,
but this business of fence-cutting can lead to a range war, too.
Like it or not, Homestead is here to stay.
There's more of them coming in on every train.
I know all that.
Those cattlemen built this country, Matt.
In a few more years, now they'll have us fenced out of it.
Time's changed, Ben.
There's range still left out west, New Mexico, Arizona.
Yes, I know. Some of us have been thinking about it.
Matt, they'll fence you out, too, you know.
Yeah, I guess they will.
Well, when that time comes, I'll move on, if I'm still around.
Farms and families.
Next thing they'll do is set up courts and bring the law in here.
Law's here now, Ben.
In Dodge City, I'm the law.
In Dodge City, I'm the law.
Gunsmoke, under the direction of Norman MacDonald,
stars William Conrad as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshal.
Tonight's story was especially written for Gunsmoke by Les Crutchfield,
a music composed and conducted by Rex Corey.
Featured in tonight's cast were Harry Bartel, Lou Krugman, and Georgia Ellis,
with Jack Crouchon, Barney Phillips, Vivi Janis, and Johnny McGovern.
Parley Bear is Chester, and Howard McNear is Doc.
Join us again next week as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshal,
fights to bring law and order out of the wild violence of the West in Gunsmoke.
Jungle Legacy is the name of tonight's adventure with Tarzan.
Listen as Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle, faces a band of unscrupulous men
who seek a uranium deposit in Tarzan's realm,
through which they hope to rule the world.
Don't miss Jungle Legacy tonight,
when most of these same CBS radio stations bring you Tarzan.
It's packed with thrills, packed with action, packed with tense atmosphere.
This is Roy Rowan speaking.
Remember...